


Taking Care of a Sick Member from a Distance

by sassy_Tuukka_Time_Tantrum



Series: Pissed-Off Goalies Club [11]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Gen, Patrice Bergeron - Freeform, Pissed-off goalies, Sick Tuukka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-05-24 15:57:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6158856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassy_Tuukka_Time_Tantrum/pseuds/sassy_Tuukka_Time_Tantrum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tuukka Rask makes an unexpected exit from the final Bruins/Penguins game of the season causing the other three members of the Pissed-Off Goalies club to worry about the only non-Canadian member of the club.  [Slightly AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What's Wrong with Tuukka

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this months ago as part of a cognitive therapy assignment. This is slightly AU (since Tuukka played the full game among other slight differences.)

Tuukka was sitting in his stall prepping his sticks before their game against Pittsburgh when Claude walked up to him.

"You mentioned that you weren't feeling that great this morning during our pregame workouts. How are you feeling now?"

"A little better," Tuukka responded, "I was able to get a little bit of sleep this afternoon. And I think that did the trick."

"Are you feeling well enough to get the start in goal?"

"Yeah," Tuukka said, "I should be fine to play. It's just a little bit of a cold thing."

"Okay, just let me know if you start feeling worse or if you change your mind."

"I will."

“I’m going to let Goose know that there’s a chance he may have to go in in relief tonight because you're feeling a little under the weather. I want him to have some time to prepare in case he does have to go in.”

Tuukka nodded and went back to taping his sticks. 

\--

Despite his cold, Tuukka felt as though he was playing a pretty decent game. The Penguins hadn’t thrown anything too crazy at him but he had probably stopped about a dozen or so shots. But then as Tuukka watched Olli set up for a point shot, he felt a sneeze coming on.

"Oh fuck no..." He thought as he tried to suppress the sneeze but couldn't.

He could hear the disappointed roar from the crowd once the sneeze had passed. He didn't even need to turn around, he knew that the younger Finn scored.

He turned to one of the linesmen: "Could I get a towel or something?" He asked.

"What's up?" The Linesman asked.

"I just sneezed into my mask and I need to blow my nose." Tuukka said.

The linesman laughed, "I'll see what I can do."

A few moments later he returned with one of the Gatorade towels they had an almost unlimited supply of, "Do you have a cold or something? You sound like you're kinda stuffed up."

"Yeah I have a cold," Tuukka said as he wiped the inside of his mask. He wiped his face with it then was careful to hand the linesman a part of the towel he hadn't used. "You might wanna wash your hands." Tuukka advised, “I don’t want you to get sick too.” 

The linesman laughed, “That might be difficult since I don’t see a sink out here,” He said as he took the towel from Tuukka, “But as soon as the period is over I’ll go and wash my hands.” 

Before the game was resumed he took a quick drink and sprayed some water on the back of his neck. But as he watched the play progress, he realized that despite all the equipment he was wearing, he felt a little cold. He figured it was just the result of spraying cold water on his neck. But the cold feeling never went away. It only progressively worsened.

As he watched a play develop in the Penguin’s zone, his shins and calves started to ache a little. It wasn’t something that he couldn’t play through but as time went on, it spread to his knees, then to his back and eventually to his arms. In a matter of minutes, the achiness had spread to his entire body. And he started to wonder if maybe he was feeling just a tad too ill to play the entire game.

A little while later just as the Penguins were about to go on the powerplay, his head and eye lids grew heavy and it felt as though all of his energy had been drained from him. He groaned as he glanced toward the bench, wondering if maybe he should remove himself from the game before the penalty kill got to work. But he decided that with just about eight minutes left in the period that he could stick it out.

After struggling to stop a shot that came at him much quicker than he had anticipated. He turned to Chara, "Tell the guys to tighten up a little." He said.

"What's wrong?" Chara asked. 

"I'm not feeling that great all of a sudden." Tuukka said, "I'm gonna try to stay in for the rest of the period, but help me out a little."

"Alright," Chara said, "But if you're not feeling well you should probably sit out the third."

Tuukka nodded and sprayed water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up a bit.

\--

Tuukka leaned up against the boards during the TV time out following their successful penalty kill.

"You okay Tuukks?" Jonas Gustavsson asked as he put Tuukka's water bottle and Gatorade bottle on the bench door as the other goalie tried his best to massage his aching head, “You don’t look so good…”

Tuukka shook his head, "You’re probably gonna have to go in for me," he said tiredly.

"You're really not feeling well huh?" Jonas asked as he shook his blocker off and put his hand to Tuukka’s sweaty forehead. He was one of the few on the team who knew that Tuukka hadn’t been feeling well. He had been told shortly before the game started that there was a chance that he might have to go in in relief, “I think you have a fever, you feel pretty warm. Do you want me to get the coach so we can switch now?”

Tuukka shook his head, "I think I'll be able to hold out for the rest of the period, there are only about five minutes left. But I really don't think I'll play in the third. I just wanted to give you a warning."

"Okay," Jonas said, "Good luck."

Tuukka nodded, "Don’t let anyone drink out of those," he said, "I don’t want to spread this. Don’t drink out of them either."

\--

"What's wrong Tuukks?" Claude asked shortly after they entered the dressing room after the second period. He had noticed the change in his goaltender’s play almost immediately and he had nearly pulled him just before their last penalty kill.

"Can you put Jonas in for the third?" Tuukka asked tiredly.

"Starting to feel worse?" Claude asked.

Tuukka nodded slightly, "It started about halfway through. I just…really don’t feel well right now.” 

"I could tell," Claude said as he placed his hand to Tuukka's forehead, "Yeah, we’ll sub you out, I'm pretty sure you have a fever. But I want to be sure so go have Don check your temperature. Tell him that I'm going to start filling out an emergency goalie request. That way if you are feverish you can rest."

Tuukka nodded as he stood up to head to the examination room.

“I had a feeling I’d be seeing you,” Don said as Tuukka entered the exam room, “What’s wrong?” 

“I really don’t feel well,” Tuukka responded, “Halfway through the period I was hit with chills, fatigue, my whole body aches and my head is pounding. Coach wants you to check my temperature.” 

"Yep you’ve got a fever alright, thirty-eight point three (100.9)," Don said, "Keep the rest of your gear on for now, in case Toronto doesn't approve our request right away. We'll definitely relieve you from the game. But we'll have to get back to you on whether you'll sit at the bench or rest in here for the third."

Tuukka nodded, “Coach already said he was gonna sub me out,” he said, "And that he's filling out the emergency goalie paperwork." 

"Here,” Don said as he handed Tuukka a few Tylenol and a cup of water, “We still have the third to play and we’re traveling tonight. I’ll set things up so that if our request is approved you can lie down in here for the rest of the game.”

\--

About five minutes before the third period was about to start, Tuukka stood and groaned at the thought of having to put the rest of his equipment back on. Even though he would be sitting on the bench, he would still be incredibly uncomfortable. Because of the fever he was hot one minute, then freezing the next and he didn’t really want to deal with that while wearing full goalie gear that he wouldn’t be able to take off.

"Tuukka,” Claude said as he walked up to him, “You can take the rest of your equipment off. Our emergency goalie request has been approved. We'll spare you from the postgame media scrum as well."

"Who's going in as back up?" Tuukka asked as he sighed in relief.

"Bob," Claude said, "He'll be down in a few."

Tuukka nodded as he started to remove his gear.

\--

As Fleury started to prep his crease for the final 20 minutes he glanced over at his fellow goalie. But something wasn't right.

"Those aren't Tuukka's pads..." He muttered to himself.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen may I have your attention please." The announcer said, "Now playing in goal for Boston is number fifty, Jonas Gustavsson."

"What happened to Tuukka?" Fleury asked. The Bruins wouldn't pull him because he gave up one goal in the second would they? He looked over at the Bruins bench but found that Tuukka was absent from the backup’s usual spot and that could only mean one thing. “Alright, which of my teammates am I going to have to beat the shit out of?”

\--

Price was half paying attention to the Bruins Penguins game. The third player were just returning to the ice when he heard: "Tuukka Rask leads the Bruins out..."

"Hold on Doc, That isn't Rask. It looks like the Bruins have made a goaltending change between periods.”

“Oh you’re right. It looks like Jonas Gustavsson will be playing the rest of the game for the Bruins. I wonder what’s up with Tuukka Rask?”

“I noticed that Rask looked pretty uncomfortable during most of the second period. I don't know if he's hurt or what. He’s not at the bench."

"Well we've just received official word that Tuukka Rask will not return to tonight’s game because of an undisclosed reason."

Price frowned. "What happened?" He tried to recall a point when Tuukka might have tweaked something. He made a mental not to message both Tuukka and Fleury once the game was over.

"Hopefully whatever was bothering Rask enough to force him to sit out the third period isn't too serious. We'll let you know if we get any further information regarding Rask's condition." 

“Hey,” Crawford said over their skype chat, “Did you happen to notice if Tuukks got hurt or something?”

“No I didn’t,” Price said, “I was about to ask you the same thing. But it looked like he was talking to the linesman about something after that awful goal he allowed.”

“I cringed at that goal,” Crawford said, “It’s just not like Tuukka to give up a goal like that. It wasn’t even like he was screened or anything, he just didn’t react.”

“Something has to be bothering him,” Price said, “Whether he’s hurt or sick, there’s no way Tuukka was feeling well tonight.”

“I hope he’s okay.” Crawford said, “It would suck if something were to happen to him this late in the season. Hopefully he's just sick or something and not hurt." 

\--

“Not feeling well Tuukka?” Bob asked as he sat down next to the exhausted netminder.

“Not at all,” Tuukka muttered.

Bob sighed as he gave Tuukka a sympathetic smile as he placed his hand to the goalie’s forehead, “I was trying to figure out why you weren’t up to your usual. I guess we can blame the fever.” he said, “You didn’t try to stop the goal they scored at all. That should have been routine for you.”

“I sneezed when Olli took the shot,” Tuukka said.

Bob laughed a little and gave Tuukka a pat on the back, “Go lie down already will you?” He said, “It’ll be a late night for us. So try to rest up a bit. You still did well out there regardless of how sick you were feeling.”

Tuukka nodded as he grabbed his phone and headed towards the examination room. 

“I’m okay. I just wasn’t feeling well and decided to leave the game.” He messaged to Jasmiina.

“Thanks for letting me know. Feel better.” She responded a few minutes later.

Tuukka was just about to nod off when his phone went off again.

"But you shouldn't have played if you weren't feeling well. I could tell you weren't feeling well since you came home from morning skate."

"I was feeling alright until a little a while ago." Tuukka responded.

"Tuukka, you're like your daughter, you get extremely cranky when you're not feeling well. And you were extremely cranky when you got home from morning skate."

Tuukka sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Can we discuss this later? It'll be a late night for me I'm not feeling well at all and I want to try and get a little bit of sleep before we have to leave for Raleigh."

"There you go being all cranky again. I just hope you haven't already infected Vivien with whatever you're sick with. I can only deal with one cranky family member at a time."

Tuukka smiled a bit, "Odds are by the time I get back from Raleigh I'll be feeling better. So you won't have to deal with my crankiness, one of my teammates will have to deal with me."

"Take it easy and feel better Mr. Cranky. I love you and I'll see you in a few days."

"Love you too. Give Vivien a kiss for me."

\--

Tuukka was nearly asleep when the examination room door opened and the light was turned on.

"Sorry Tuukks," Don said as Tuukka moaned in protest, “We’ll be outta here in a few minutes.”

"Tuukka, what's wrong?" A voice asked in Finnish.

Tuukka looked up and Joonas Kemppainen was standing next to Don with a towel pressed to his cheek.

"I don’t feel well," Tuukka muttered in Finnish, "I have a fever. What happened?"

"Took a stick to the face," Joonas said, "Why did you play if you weren't feeling well?"

"I wasn't feeling too bad before the game," Tuukka said, "I thought I would be able to tough it out."

"Are we on the powerplay at least?" Tuukka asked in English

"Yeah double minor," Don said, "You didn't turn the game on in here?"

Tuukka then muttered something that neither Joonas nor Don could quite make out.

"I understand," Don said, "You just wanted a quiet room to rest in. We'll be done in a few.” 

Joonas turned to Don, "How did you understand him?"

"I've had a lot of practice. We're not quite sure what language Tuukka speaks when he's exhausted like this," Don said, "It's certainly not English and I'm not sure if it's Finnish."

"That wasn't Finnish," Joonas said.

"You guys are mean," Tuukka moaned.

"Alright Tuukks we're all set," Don said, "Do you want the light on or off?"

"Off," Tuukka responded.

"Okay," Don said as he placed a cold pack to Tuukka’s forehead, "Try to rest a little."

"Tell the guys I better not find out they blew the lead we had when I left the game," Tuukka said. I'll infect them with whatever I'm sick with if they do." 

"That's not nice," Joonas said.

"Not you though," Tuukka said in Finnish, "You're okay."

"Feel better Tuukka," Joonas said.

"Kick ass out there," Tuukka said.

\--

A while later Tuukka was woken up again when the light was turned on again.

"Sorry Tuukka," Patrice said, "It's almost time to go."

Tuukka muttered something as he slowly opened his eyes and sat up.

"Yes, we held the lead and won," Patrice said.

"How did you understand him?" Joonas asked, "I couldn't understand him!"

"We've been teammates for a while," Patrice said, "You get used to it."

"Tuukka, you're coming to the airport with me," Patrice said, "They don't want you driving. I'm also gonna be your roommate in North Carolina."

Tuukka muttered something and Patrice sighed, "Take that up the coaches and training staff. You know the drill. If you get sick on the road, you get a roommate. Unless you want to stay in Boston."

"Fine." Tuukka muttered as he stood up. “But you’ll have to drive Joonas too. We were planning on carpooling.” 

Joonas started at Patrice in awe, "I still don't understand...Was he speaking French?"

"No," Patrice said, "We call that "Tuukka's tired." I've had a lot of practice trying to figure it out. We had another teammate a few years ago who could understand better than I can. Normally we just ignore him when he gets like this," Patrice said, "Or try to anyway, he's hard to ignore."

"Fuck you."

"And there you have Tuukka's favorite phrase," Patrice said.

Tuukka sighed.

"Sorry Tuukks," Patrice said, "I know you're not feeling well. You'll be able to sleep in a little bit."

“Is...this normal?" Joonas asked

"Yeah," Tuukka muttered, "At least I get Bergy this time and not Kells."

"What's wrong with how I take care of my sick teammates?" Chris asked. He hadn't been able to play, practice or travel with the team since breaking his femur in November but he would still attend games to offer his teammates some moral support. 

"You should take a nap, eh?" Tuukka said in a mock Canadian accent, "Maybe if you sleep you'll feel better, eh. Cough into your elbow not your hands, eh. Please don't throw up on me, eh. And my personal favorite "you should only take medicine if you absolutely need it, take a nap instead, eh!""

“I don’t sound like that!” Chris protested.

"I beg to differ!” Brad said, “Tuukks, you are scary good at that. Don't ever do it again. We only need on Kells on the team. You're gonna give me nightmares!"

"Leave your goaltender alone please," Claude said, "Are you feeling well enough to travel with us? Because we can put you on IR if you want to stay in Boston and rest."

"I can travel," Tuukka said, “I think I’ll be feeling better by game day.”

“Okay,” Claude said as he watched Tuukka walk over to his stall, “You can travel in something comfortable if you want. We’ll make an exception because you’re not feeling well.”

Tuukka nodded and grabbed a pair of sweatpants, a tee shirt, and his favorite gray Bruins hooded sweatshirt.

"Jeez you still have that thing?" Brad asked, "Get rid of it already."

"Shut the fuck up," Tuukka growled, “It’s the one I got for the Winter Classic.”

"I said leave you goaltender alone!" Claude said

\--

"Are you cold Tuukka?" Patrice asked as Tuukka shivered in the front seat of his car.

"It’s just cold out tonight," Tuukka muttered as he tried to pull his coat tighter.

"It’s not really that cold out but I'll turn the heat on a bit," Patrice said as he started his car, "You don't mind do you Joonas?"

"If it makes Tuukka more comfortable I don't mind," Joonas said.

Patrice placed his hand to Tuukka's forehead, "I see why they removed you from the game," he said, "Why did you decide to travel with us?"

"I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow," Tuukka said, "these things only last about a day with me."

Patrice nodded, “Marc-Andre Fleury and Olli Maatta were asking about you,” He said, “But I told them I didn’t know why you had left.”

Tuukka nodded, “I figured they’d ask,” He muttered, “I’ll text them or something later.” 

\--

"Do you like playing in Boston Joonas?" Patrice asked. Tuukka had already fallen asleep and they hadn't hit the highway yet.

"Yeah," Joonas said, "It was hard to get used to the speed of the game. But it helps to another Finn on the team."

"Tuukka's been trying to lobby for a Finnish teammate for a few years now. He was very excited when he found out the team had signed another Finn." Patrice said, "He texted me: "I'M NOT ALONE ANYMORE!"

"Tuukka's been kinda quiet," Joonas asked, "He seems to like to talk a lot. Is he okay?"

"I think he's asleep," Patrice said, "His phone keeps going off though. I'll wake him up when we get to the airport. He can get pretty cranky."

\--

Fleury's phone went off: "What happened to Tuukka?" Price had messaged him.

"I don't know," Fleury responded, "We kinda had to take off before I could find out."

“The commentators mentioned that he had left the game and wouldn’t be returning but they didn’t give a reason why he had left.”

"I talked to Bergeron for a bit and he said that it had been Tuukka’s decision to leave the game but he didn’t know exactly why Tuukka left," Fleury said, "So I don't know. But he was playing almost as if he was injured for a good part of the second."

"I know, I watched the game," Price said, "I tried messaging Tuukka, but he didn't respond."

"I think they're traveling tonight too," Fleury said, "We can see if he's able to talk tomorrow."

\--

Patrice, Joonas and Tuukka were three of the last players to board their plane.

Mostly because Tuukka had been very unwilling to leave the warm car for the bitter cold February night.

"Could I get a few blankets?" Patrice asked one of the flight attendants.

“Sure.”

"Are you sure you’re okay Tuukka?" Patrice asked.

"I’m…just cold..." Tuukka stammered.

Patrice sighed, "I think you should have stayed behind in Boston," He said. "And waited to see how you would feel in the morning."

“I’ll be fine…” Tuukka stammered.

"It is pretty cold out there tonight," The flight attendant said as she returned with two blankets. "Is he ill?"

"Yeah," Patrice said as he draped the blankets around Tuukka’s shoulders, "He has a cold."

"Do you want me to get him some nice hot tea?"

"Yes," Patrice said as Tuukka moaned something about not liking tea very much, "Tea will make you feel a little better Tuukks. It'll warm you up a little."

"Can I have a coffee instead?"

"No. Coffee isn’t going to help you feel any better. It’s only going to keep you awake."

"Not even decaf?"

"No."

"Here you are," The Flight attendant said as she returned with a steaming travel cup and some honey packets.

"Thank you," Tuukka muttered as he glared at Patrice

"You're going to drink some of that," Patrice said, "Humor me please."

Tuukka took a sip and grimaced, "That's so gross..."

"Add some of the honey packets," Patrice said, "It'll make it taste better."

Tuukka sighed and took the insulated paper cup and honey packets. He then emptied three of the packets into the cup.

"See if that's any better."

Tuukka reluctantly took a sip, "It's still gross but slightly less gross than it was earlier."

"Try to drink at least half of it," Patrice said. 

\--

Towards the end of the flight Tuukka threw the empty cup at Patrice.

"There I drank all of it," He muttered.

“That wasn’t so bad was it?” Patrice asked.

“I nearly gagged,” Tuukka muttered, “That was like drinking hot water with a slightly bitter after-taste.” 

“How do you feel?” Patrice asked.

“I’m too hot now,” Tuukka whined as he shrugged the blanket off his shoulders.

“Yeah a fever will do that to you,” Patrice said, “Just try to take is easy.” 

\--

When they finally arrived at their hotel in Raleigh, Patrice led a feverish and exhausted Tuukka to their room.

"Are you going to sleep in that?" Patrice asked as he helped Tuukka remove his jacket. Tuukka nodded wordlessly as he sat on one of the beds. "Here," Patrice said as he handed Tuukka the thermometer that Don had given him on the plane, "Take your temperature."

"What is it?" Tuukka asked tiredly after he handed the thermometer to Patrice. He was too tired to even see straight never mind read numbers on a tiny screen.

"One hundred one point three," Patrice said.

"Celsius?" Tuukka asked. His mind wasn't processing the number Patrice had given him.

"Uh, thirty-eight point five," Patrice said as he handed Tuukka a few Tylenol and a bottle of cold water, "You should have stayed behind in Boston. You have a pretty high fever."

"I didn't want to get my little girl sick," Tuukka muttered as he let himself fall against the bed, "I hate when she gets sick."

Being a parent himself, Patrice sighed and nodded in understanding. He probably would have done the same thing. "Do you need anything?" He asked as he help Tuukka get settled under the blankets.

"Sleep," Tuukka mumbled with a shadow of a smirk on his face.

"Okay," Patrice said, "Try to sleep well. Don't hesitate to wake me if you need anything during the night."

Tuukka nodded slightly.

Once Patrice was sure Tuukka was asleep he grabbed the small ice bucket and left the room to find an ice machine. Patrice returned to the room and filled the rest of the ice bucket with water and grabbed a small washcloth. He placed the small bucket of ice water on the table near the bed Tuukka was sleeping in. Plunged the wash cloth into the water, rung it out a bit then placed it on Tuukka's sweaty forehead.

Patrice sighed in relief when Tuukka barely stirred when the cloth compress was placed on his head. He then got ready for bed himself.


	2. Checking In

The following morning Patrice was glad when he woke up a few minutes before his alarm went off. It meant that he didn't have to worry about accidentally waking Tuukka. He picked up his phone and found that he had a few text messages. 

"Is Tuukka still feverish?" Don had sent him.

"Is Tuukka still sick?" Claude had sent him

Patrice walked up to the other bed and carefully placed his hand to Tuukka's forehead.

"Yeah," He messaged Claude and Don, "He still feels pretty warm."

"What's his temperature?" Don sent.

"I'm not about to check. He's still asleep right now. But he went to bed with a one-hundred-one point three degree fever last night." 

"Let him sleep then," Don said, "I'll let Sweeney know we need to call up a goaltender just in case."

Before Patrice left the room he left Tuukka a note on the nightstand. "I went down for breakfast. Let me know if you want anything."

\--

Tuukka didn't wake up until Patrice was getting ready to leave for morning practice.

"Good morning Tuukks," Patrice greeted, "How are you feeling?"

"About the same as yesterday," Tuukka responded tiredly.

"Take your temperature," Patrice said.

"Thirty-eight point one (100.6)," Tuukka said.

"It's down a little bit from last night," Patrice said, "You can take tylenol if you want to. I didn't know what you wanted for breakfast so I bought you a bagel and some fruit."

"Thanks," Tuukka said.

They're gonna call up another goalie in case you're still not feeling well tomorrow," Patrice said.

Tuukka nodded, "Could I have that bagel?" he asked, "I'm a little hungry."

“Sure,” Patrice said, “Eat what you can. I’ll call you once practice is over to see what you want for lunch okay.”

“Sounds good,” Tuukka said. 

\--

Tuukka woke up from a light sleep to his cell phone going off. Thinking it might have been Patrice asking him about what he wanted for lunch, he checked the message.

"Since when does Bergy know Finnish?" Tuukka thought. And without reading who sent the message first he sent: "When did you learn Finnish?"

"I've been speaking Finnish my whole life!" The sender replied. 

"Bergy, I thought your native language was French." Tuukka responded

"Tuukka...did you hit your head or something? It's Olli Maatta. FaceTime me. It’s easier to talk that way."

"Oh shit. Sorry Olli."

"What happened yesterday? The last time we met you were all like "I want you and Fleury to be up for our last meeting" but you left the game after the second period. I’m guessing since you were absent from the bench in the third, you’re either hurt or sick."

"I’m not hurt," Tuukka said, “I left the game sick.”

"What's wrong?"

"I've got some kind of cold thing. I woke up feeling kinda not great yesterday morning but then started to feel better as the day went on. And I thought I'd be okay to play but halfway through the second, not too long after you scored, I started to really not feel well."

"I was trying to figure out how I managed to score that goal on you!” Olli exclaimed, “What did you go and try to play for you idiot?"

"I thought I'd be able to hold out." Tuukka explained, "But they decided to remove me from the game after discovering that I had a fever. Well, a higher fever than the one I had woken up with."

“You woke up with a fever yesterday. And decided that you were well enough to try and play a full game?”

“My fever wasn’t too high,” Tuukka responded, “It was only about thirty-seven point nine (100.3). I’ve played with worse.” 

"You really are an idiot Tuukka Rask." Olli responded a few moments later, “That’s still a fever! It’d be one thing if you were a forward or something. But you’re a goalie! You souldn’t play with a fever if you’re a goalie! Did you NOT learn your lesson from the Russia game during the Olympics?"

"I think I played pretty well that game,” Tuukka said, “I only allowed one goal.”

"You were forced to sit out the game against Sweden because you got sicker,” Olli said, "Seriously Rask, you need to learn when to take a sick day. Are you feeling any better today?"

"No," Tuukka responded, "I'm still feeling pretty awful today. We're on the road and it sucks."

"They let you travel?"

"I'm pretty sure I'll be feeling better by game day."

"I'll keep my eye on NHL.com to see if you stay true to your word Rask."

"What are you going to do if I'm not? You're too young to swear."

"Fuck you Rask! I'd punch you again if I could." Olli said, "And I'll let you get back to resting. I just wanted to see what happened to you yesterday."

"Thanks Olli. Sorry about the confusion earlier. I had just woken up and I guess I wasn't thinking straight."

"Just take it easy and feel better will you? Flower will probably call you later or something. He was a little concerned yesterday."

"I figured. Thanks for checking in Olli. Good luck."

"Get some rest you idiot!"

"I am resting. I've been lying down and everything."

"Fuck you Rask."

"I'm telling Fleury on you! You're too young to swear!"

"FUCK. YOU."

\--

Tuukka was resting on bed in the hotel room shortly after eating a small lunch when his phone went off.

"Can you talk?" Price had messaged him. He had gotten several other messages the night before but he had been too tired to respond to any of them. 

"Yeah," Tuukka responded.

"Hey Bergy could you get my laptop for me?" Tuukka asked.

"What do you need it for?"

"A Skype chat thing," Tuukka responded hoping that Patrice wouldn’t pry into it too much. Tuukka opened Skype once he had his laptop. "Hey guys."

"What happened to you yesterday?" The three other goalies asked in unison.

"Why did you leave the game? Crawford asked.

"Are you hurt?" Price asked.

"Which of my teammates am I gonna have to beat the crap out of?" Fleury asked. "You worried us! You weren’t looking like yourself before you left the game!"

"Sorry guys," Tuukka responded. "I'm not hurt. I left the game sick."

"Oh that sucks," Price said, "What's wrong?"

"I've been battling a bad cold," Tuukka said, "But it kinda got worse yesterday."

"Then why did you play?" Fleury asked.

"I thought I'd be able stick it out," Tuukka said, "But then about halfway through the second I was hit with chills, body aches, bad headache, and wicked fatigue all at once. That was when I decided that maybe I wasn’t feeling well enough to play the full game.”

"That's rough," Crawford said.

"I asked them to take me out during intermission," Tuukka said, "I figured we hopefully had enough of a lead for me to leave the game and not have my team blow it. They pretty much ruled me out for the third after just placing their hand to my forehead."

"I seriously thought one of my teammates injured you," Fleury said, “You weren't moving the way you normally do."

"I was trying to conserve my energy," Tuukka said as he coughed a bit.

"Are you still sick?" Price asked.

"Yeah," Tuukka said, "I've been running a fever all day.”

“That sucks,” Price said, “But at least you’re not hurt.”

“That’s true,” Tuukka said, “Oh Fleury, I spoke with Olli Maatta this morning. I thought I’d let you know that he swore again.” 

“I’ll yell at him later,” Fleury said, “So since the Blackhawks game is being nationally televised Price and I were gonna watch it. You’re welcome to join us if you’re feeling well enough.” 

“Okay, I’ll probably join you then,” Tuukka said, “What time?”

“About eight or so,” Fleury said.

“Alright,” Tuukka said as he started coughing causing Patrice to look up from his book.

“You okay Tuukks?” Price asked.

"I think I'm gonna get going," Tuukka said hoarsely as Bergy gave him a concerned look, “My throat’s starting to hurt a little...”

"Okay," Price said, "Get some rest so you feel better. Keep us updated."

"I will." Tuukka said.

"Are you gonna be okay for the game you have against us?" Crawford asked.

"I should be," Tuukka said, "I have no idea if I'm playing in our next game though. We'll play that by ear."

"Feel better Tuukka," Price and Fleury said, “Talk to you later.”

"Thanks guys," Tuukka said before he closed the Skype chat and shut his laptop, “Talk to you later.”

"You were talking with Carey Price, Marc-Andre Fleury and Corey Crawford weren't you?" Patrice asked.

"Yeah," Tuukka said sheepishly, "We've been kinda meeting up to talk and rant about goalie stuff. We've been doing it since the regular season ended. You...don't mind do you?" 

"Not at all," Patrice said, "I think it's great that you're talking to goalies on other teams. I think you need that outlet. You were...not in a good place at the end of last season," Patrice said. “I’m gonna head to Starbucks with Marchy. Do you want me to get you something?”

“Get me a coffee,” Tuukka said.

Patrice sighed, “How about tea or something?” He said, “Coffee isn’t really the best thing you should be drinking with a cold.” 

“I compromised with you on the tea thing last night,” Tuukka said, “Can you please get me a coffee?” 

Patrice sighed, “Take your temperature,” He said. 

“It’s still thirty-eighty point one (100.6),” Tuukka responded, “Can you get me a coffee?”

There was a knock at the door as Patrice sighed.

“You ready Bergy?” Brad called from the other side of the door.

“Yeah,” Patrice called as he put his jacket on, “Give me a sec.”

Tuukka sighed and got out of bed and grabbed his wallet, “Get. Me. A. Coffee.” He said as he handed Patrice five dollars.

Patrice took the money, “Get back in bed will you?” He asked, “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Get me a coffee!”

\--

“How’s Tuukka doing?” Brad asked as they got to the Starbucks, “He sounded pretty good.”

“He’s still not feeling well,” Patrice said as his cell phone went off, “He still has a mild fever.” 

“That sucks,” Brad said as he checked his phone, “Tuukka wants a coffee. He sent me four text messages saying so.” 

“I know,” Patrice said as he showed Brad the six text messages that Tuukka had sent him all of which read: “GET ME A COFFEE!” 

“Get him a coffee then,” Brad said, “If you don’t get him one I will.”

Patrice sighed, “He has a cold and a fever,” he said, “He should be drinking something like hot tea.”

“You’re starting to sound like Kells,” Brad said, “But honestly what’s the difference between the two? They’re both hot drinks, they both come from some kind of plant, they both have caffeine, and they both taste horrible without cream and sugar. Seriously if Tuukks wants a coffee, then get the man a coffee!” 

“Fine,” Patrice sighed, “Ask him what he wants.”

“One step ahead of you,” Brad said as he called Tuukka, “Hey Tuukks, I managed to convince Bergy to get you a coffee, what do you want?”

“Uh, a Venti hot medium roast,” Tuukka said.

“Alright,” Brad said, “You owe me.”

“Fuck you,” Tuukka said, “I gave Bergy money for a coffee. I don’t owe you anything!” 

“I talked him into letting you have a coffee,” Brad said, “Bergy would have gotten you tea or something. So you still owe me.” 

“Whatever, just make sure he doesn’t get me decaf,” Tuukka said, “Thanks I guess.” 

“Talk to you later Tuukks.”

“What does Tuukka want?” Patrice asked.

“A hot Venti medium roast.” Brad said.

“He’s not getting a Venti.” Patrice said, “I’ll get him a grande or something.” 

"He also said not decaf." Brad said. "In fact, I'm gonna order Tuukka's coffee."

"Who's side are you on?" Patrice asked.

"Do you want Tuukka to whine about how you didn't get him a coffee for the rest of the day? Because you know that's what he's gonna do."

Patrice sighed, "You're right," He said as he handed Brad the five dollars Tuukka had given to him, "Just don't get him a Venti."

"Alright, but you're taking the blame for that one."

"Uh hi," He said as he walked up to the counter, "Could I get two grande medium roast hot coffees? And would it be possible to get a little to-go cup for cream? I'm ordering for a friend and I don't know how he likes to take his coffee."

"That can be done," The Barista said, "So do you want me to leave room for cream in both?"

"Yes please."

"Bergy text Tuukks ask him if he wants me to get him cream, half and half or milk to go in his coffee."

"He said he wants milk," Bergy said.

"Does Tuukka say he wants milk or is that Bergy talking?"

"It's Tuukka," Patrice said as he showed Brad the text from Tuukka.

"Here you are," The Barista said, "And here's an empty cup for the cream."

"Thank you miss," Brad said. He took the three cups and walked over to the condiment area. He opened one of the coffee cups put a little bit of cream in it then grabbed three sugar packets and dumped them in. "Do you think Tuukka wants me to get him some sugar too?"

"Get it for him just in case."

"Okay," Brad said as he grabbed a handful of sugar packets.

"Not that many!" Patrice said, "I highly doubt Tuukka takes his coffee with 15 sugar packets in it!"

"I like to keep a supply of sugar packets on me just in case," Brad said, "You never know when you'll need them."

\--

"Hey we're back," Brad called as they got back to the hotel room.

"I thought I said I wanted a Venti," Tuukka whined, "Why'd you get me a grande?"

"You're lucky you got a coffee at all," Patrice said as Brad handed Tuukka the coffee, the cream and a few sugar packets.

"Bergy am I allowed to sit at the table while I add milk and sugar to my coffee so I don't burn myself or spill it everywhere?" Tuukka asked

"Yes Tuukka," Patrice said as Tuukka got out of bed and sat at the table with his coffee. 

“How are you feeling Tuukks?” Brad asked.

“I’ve felt better,” Tuukka responded as he prepared his coffee, “Hopefully I’ll be feeling better by tomorrow.”

“Hey, if you’re not feeling better tomorrow, don’t worry about it,” Brad said, “We’re playing Carolina. We’ll make sure we get things done if you have to take a sick day. Just focus on resting up so you can feel better.”

Tuukka raised an eyebrow at Brad, “Are you feeling okay Brad?” he asked. 

“Unlike you, I’m feeling just fine,” Brad asked, “Why do you ask?” 

“You didn’t make some smart-ass comment about me being sick,” Tuukka said.

“Why would I make a smart-ass comment about you being sick?” Brad asked, “That would be mean.” 

Tuukka sighed, “Oh right, Bergy’s in the room too,” he said. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brad asked as Tuukka took a sip of his coffee.

“You know what it means,” Tuukka responded. 

“Fuck you Tuukka,” Brad said. 

“Brad, Tuukka,” Patrice said sternly, “Be nice.” 

“Tuukka’s the one being mean,” Brad whined, “I’m just trying to wish my teammate well. Shouldn’t you get back in bed Tuukka?”

“Fuck you Marchy.” Tuukka growled as he took another sip of his coffee. 

Patrice sighed. Brad and Tuukka were good friends but they enjoyed trying to “out-chirp” each other any chance they got. It was also insanely hard to tell whether they were being genuine with each other or if they were simply being sarcastic. “Just knock it off,” Patrice said, “Both of you.” 

“Well, I think I’m gonna get going,” Brad said, “Tuukks needs rest and I don’t want him to infect me with whatever he’s sick with. Feel better Tuukks. Take good care of him, Bergy.” 

“You better score some goals tomorrow if I can’t play,” Tuukka said.

“Guy, I’m on fire this year,” Brad said, “I’ll score at least one goal.” 

\--

“Bergy,” Tuukka muttered about an hour and a half after they had had supper.

“What’s wrong Tuukka?” Patrice asked.

“I think I’m gonna call it a night,” Tuukka muttered, “I really don’t feel well right now…my head is killing me. If I give you my laptop and skype passwords will you let Price and Fleury that I won’t be joining them?”

“Sure,” Patrice said as he handed Tuukka the thermometer, “Take your temperature.”

“Thirty-eight point six (101.5),” Tuukka read once the thermometer beeped.

“Here,” Patrice said as he handed Tuukka a few Tylenol and a bottle of water, “Hopefully the coffee you had earlier doesn’t keep you up.”

“I’m far too tired for that,” Tuukka muttered as he jotted his laptop and skype passwords onto a piece of paper, “I’ll probably pass out the minute I close my eyes. Here are the passwords.” 

“Try to sleep well Tuukks,” Patrice said. 

\--

Around eight that evening, Bergy located Tuukka’s laptop, which the netminder had been sleeping on top of somehow. He then opened Skype using the passwords that Tuukka had written down for him.

“Patrice?” Price asked, “Where’s Tuukka?”

“He’s already asleep for the night,” Patrice said, “He really started feeling pretty sick about an hour or so ago. So I told him to get some sleep.” 

“Poor Tuukks…” Price said, “You don’t mind that we’ve been speaking with Tuukka on a fairly regular basis do you?”

“Not at all,” Patrice said, “After last season, Tuukka needs that kind of outlet. He wasn’t in a good place at the end of last season. I should be asking if you mind that I know about your little meetings.”

“We don’t mind at all,” Price said, “We’ve all played with you at one point during our careers. Tell Tuukka we hope he feels better and that we’ll talk to him at some point tomorrow.” 

“I will,” Patrice said.

“Bon soir Patrice,” Fleury said.

“Bon soir, Marc-Andre, Carey.” Patrice responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People seemed to like how I wrote Olli Maatta so he makes an appearance in this.   
> Once again, and feedback is greatly appreciated :)


	3. Long-Distance Babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I thought I had more of this chapter written...

Patrice was mildly disappointed when he woke up about half an hour before his alarm went off. He was half-tempted to go back to sleep and wait for his alarm to go off. But from as far as he could tell, Tuukka was still asleep and he wanted to let Tuukka sleep for as long as he needed to. The Finn had woken up coughing in the middle of the night and both of them had had a hard time falling back to sleep afterwards. Tuukka had been so uncomfortable because of the fever he had that struggled to fall asleep until he finally got up to take some Tylenol. As for Patrice, he had noticed some slight discomfort in his throat. That and the number of times Tuukka had complained about being uncomfortable as he struggled to fall asleep, had kept him from falling back to sleep. 

Patrice still had that feeling of discomfort in the back of his throat and some congestion. Whenever he took care of a sick teammate, he usually ended up coming down with whatever they had been sick with. But if it meant that any sick teammate under his care was relatively comfortable, it was a risk he was willing to take. 

From what Tuukka and other teammates had told him, Chris Kelly’s method of caring for a sick teammate was basically: “you stay on that side of the room, I’ll stay on this side of the room and don’t you dare come on my side of the room or come near me. I don’t want whatever you’re sick with.”

Patrice picked up his phone and called the team trainer, “Hey Don, it’s Bergy. I thought I’d let you know that Tuukka’s still sick. He woke up in the middle of the night and still had a fever of one hundred point nine degrees then.”

“Thanks for letting me know,” Don responded, “I’m going to see if the Hurricanes’ team doctor will examine Tuukks a little later on. I’m just a little concerned that he’s still sick. Is he still asleep?” 

“Yeah,” Patrice said as he cleared his throat a bit, “He had a rough night. He fell asleep around half-past seven last night but then woke up around two in the morning and spend almost an hour trying to fall back to sleep.” 

“Starting to catch a cold Bergy?” Don asked.

“Yeah probably,” Patrice said, “But it’s just a little bit of congestion right now. I’ll see you during morning skate.”

“Alright,” Don said, “Just let Tuukka sleep.” 

“I intend to,” Patrice said.

\--

A little while after Patrice had left for morning skate, Tuukka woke up to his phone going off.

“Hello?” He answered tiredly. 

“Oh Tuukka!” Jasmiina exclaimed, “I wasn’t expecting you to answer. How are you feeling this morning? I tried calling you last night but Patrice said you were already asleep for the night.”

“I still don’t feel well.” Tuukka muttered.

“I could tell,” Jasmiina responded, “You don’t sound like you’re feeling well.”

“Just woke up,” Tuukka mumbled as he tried to clear his throat a little but ended up triggering a coughing fit.

“Tuukka, I know what you normally sound like when you first wake up,” Jasmiina said as she sighed, “I really hope you’re not dressing for the game tonight.” 

“I’m not,” Tuukka responded, “They brought a guy up to dress as backup. I won’t even travel to arena tonight.” 

“Good. You really sound awful.”

“How are you and Vivien doing?”

“Vivien woke up with a little bit of a fever and cold today. And I feel like I’m getting a bit of cold as well.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Tuukka muttered.

“It was bound to happen Tuukka. Will you be home tonight or tomorrow?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll let you know.”

“Okay,” Jasmiina said, “Take it easy and rest today. Feel better.”

“Thanks you too.” 

\--

A little while later there was a knock at the door. Tuukka groaned as he stood up and when he opened the door he was greeted by the Bruins trainer and another man. 

“Sorry to bother you Tuukka,” Don said, “Did we wake you up?”

“No, I was awake,” He responded as he returned to the bed.

“How are you feeling?” Don asked.

“Sick,” Tuukka responded. 

“Yeah, Patrice said that you weren’t feeling better,” Don said, “That’s why I asked the Hurricane’s team doctor to come and check up on you.” 

“Pleased to meet you Tuukka,” The other man said, “I’m gonna guess and say that there’s no relation between you and Victor Rask.”

“No,” Tuukka said, “I’m Finnish and I think he's Swedish.” 

“I figured,” The man said, “Now, what seems to be the problem?”

“I’ve just been sick for a few days,” Tuukka said.

“What kind of symptoms have you had?”

“Just a fever, cough, headache, chills on occasion,” Tuukka said, “Normal cold symptoms.”

“What was your temperature the last time you took it?”

“I don’t really remember,” Tuukka said, “It was the middle of the night.” 

“Here,” The doctor said as he handed a thermometer to Tuukka, “Take you temperature.” Tuukka did what he was told and when the small device beeped he handed it over, “One hundred point six. Is that higher or lower than what it’s been?”

“What’s that in Celsius?” Tuukka asked.

“Uh, thirty-eight point one about.” 

“That’s about what it’s been during the day,” Tuukka responded, “It’s been higher at night.” 

“Okay. Any difficulty breathing at all?”

“No.”

“Okay,” The man said, “I’m just gonna rule that it’s a little viral thing, it doesn’t sound like you’ve been sick enough for it to be the flu. And all I can really recommend at this point is keep resting as you probably have been. Sound good?”

“Yeah, thank you.” Tuukka said.

“Good luck with the rest of your season Tuukka. I hope you start to feel better soon.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you again for coming out to check on him,” Don said.

“It wasn’t a problem,” the doctor said, “I was headed this way anyway. Have a good day.”

“Tuukka, the team’s already made arrangements for you and Bergy to stay here for another night,” Don said, “You’ll return to Boston tomorrow afternoon. Is that going to be a problem?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Tuukka said, “Someone’s gonna have to drive Joonas home from the airport though. He carpooled with Bergy and I.” 

“Okay,” Don said, “Bergy has all the details about your flight tomorrow. Just take it easy and rest okay?”

“I was planning on doing that anyway,” Tuukka said.

“Bergy’s bringing you a little something to eat from the arena,” Don said.

“Okay.” 

Just after Don left the room Tuukka got a text message from Brad, “Just who said you were allowed to take a sick day Rask?”

“Uh, you did. Remember the whole: “Hey, if you’re not feeling better tomorrow, don’t worry about it. We’ll make sure we get things done if you have to take a sick day. Just focus on resting up so you can feel better” thing from yesterday?” Tuukka responded. 

"Guy when did I say that?" Bard asked

"Right before I asked you if you were feeling okay."

"I can't believe you're actually taking a sick day though. Like what is it with goalies and having to take sick days? Man, goalies are pathetic. Forwards on the other hand, we just suck it up and play through it."

"Forwards play like what? Twenty minutes of the game?" Tuukka responded. "Goalies on the other hand play all sixty minutes. Come talk to me about being “pathetic” the day you play a full sixty minute game.” 

"Yeah but you don't skate up and down the length of the rink the way forwards do. You just stand there."

"When the fuck do I get to sit down during games?"

"You play on your knees all the time!"

"Let me rephrase that, when do I get to sit with my ass on the bench during games the way you get to? You're not winning this one Squirrel."

"I still can't believe you have to take a sick day! Why are you the only one on the team who has to take sick days?"

"I sweat enough in my equipment as it is, I don’t need to add a fever to the mix. Do you want me to dehydrate or something? Not to mention, we probably wouldn't get the win tonight if I had to play in goal tonight."

"Alright, you've brought up a few good points. I guess you can take a sick day."

"Fuck you Squirrel."

"We just don't need you giving up any soft goals like you did the other night."

"It was one fucking goal!" Tuukka said, "And it's really hard to stop the puck when you're sneezing."

"Keep making excuses Rask."

"Fuck off Squirrel. What about the wide open net you missed at the beginning of that game?"

"Well, someone's being all cranky today."

"I'M RUNNING A FUCKING FEVER SQUIRREL!"

"Jeez Rask don't bite my head off. Being all mean to me after I talked Bergy into getting you a coffee yesterday. Go take a nap or something."

"You were the one who started it." Tuukka responded. "I was just laying here minding my own business and you had to go and text me."

"Fine, I’ll leave you alone now. Feel better. Don't infect Bergy with whatever you're sick with."

"Can't make any promises. Unlike Kells, Bergy actually takes care of sick teammates."

\--

Shortly after Brad had finally stopped messaging him, Tuukka got a Skype call from the other pissed off goalies. 

"Hey guys," He greeted.

"How are you feeling today?" The three asked almost simultaneously

"I'm still sick," Tuukka said, "I'm not feeling any better."

"That sucks," Price said, "And you guys play tonight don't you?"

"Well I won't be playing," Tuukka said, "I'll be watching the game from bed. And I have something to tell you."

"What's that?" Crawford asked.

"Bergy found out about our little club," Tuukka said.

"We already know,” Price said, “He contacted us last night before the Blackhawks game started. He told us that you had already fallen asleep for the night.” 

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” Tuukka said, “I had such a bad headache last night that I ended up going to bed at seven-thirty.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Fleury said, “You weren’t feeling well.” 

“You guys don’t mind that Patrice knows about our little club?” Tuukka asked, “Because I’m sick, he’s been my roommate on this trip.”

“I think we’re all okay with it,” Price said, “We’ve all played with him at some point in our career.” 

"Yeah, he knows all three of you," Tuukka said, "I think it'd be worse if Marchy found out about it."

"I think I would die if Subban found out," Price said, "He'd be all like 'the fuck you talking to the Bruins' goalie for traitor!?' He'd then go and tell the whole team about it."

"I don't think anyone on my team would care," Fleury said, "The first time I heard Olli swear this season I told him: "Tuukka Rask says you're not old enough to swear." He just gave me a funny look and told me to tell you "I'm not a little kid anymore!""

"Tell him he's never gonna live it down," Tuukka said. 

"I don't think anyone on my team would care either," Crawford said, "Everyone knows that goalies are odd. So they don't really question what we do off the ice."

"Well it's kinda different for Tuukka and I," Price said, "Since you know, the whole what is it, ninety-two year rivalry."

"Yeah true," Crawford said.

"But I think Patrice will be a good secret keeper," Price said, "We actually called him during our very first meeting."

"What did you call Bergy for?" Tuukka asked.

"When you showed up covered in dark red paint we...kinda thought you had done something to your teammates..." Fleury said, "So we called Bergy."

Tuukka sat quietly for a few moments, "Yeah I don't blame you for doing that," He said, "I think I would have too."

“You worried us just a tad,” Fleury said. 

"Speaking of Bergy," Tuukka said as he heard the lock on the door click.

"Hey, I'm back," The other three could hear, "Oh, good you're talking to Price, Crawford and Fleury. I have something to ask them."

"Hey I have a favor to ask," Patrice said as he sat next to Tuukka, "Are any of you not playing tonight?"

"I don't think any of us are playing tonight," Price said, "What did you need to ask us."

"Would you three mind keeping your eye on Tuukka tonight?" Patrice asked. “They’re not making him travel to the arena tonight because he’s still sick. No one on the team wants him to be left alone but at the same time, no one’s able to stay with him."

"Yeah," Price said, "We can keep an eye on him tonight. Do you have a number we can call in case something happens?"

"Yeah," Patrice said, "Tuukka, do you mind if I tell one of the trainers that if something happens to you he'll get a call from Fleury?"

"No," Tuukka said, "That's fine."

"I'll also give you the address and the room number for the hotel," Patrice said, "And the number of one of our training staff members. I'll explain everything to them so they'll know what's going on."

"Don't worry about a thing," Fleury said, "We'll make sure nothing bad happens to Tuukks. And if something does happen to him, he'll get him the help he needs."

"Thanks guys," Patrice said, "I'll be leaving around 5:30. And I probably won't be back until after ten."

"At least one of us will stay on with him," Price said, "So don't worry about a thing he's in pretty good hands."

“Alright,” Patrice said, “Thank you so much.”

“No problem,” Price said. 

“I’m gonna take off,” Tuukka said, “I’ll talk to you later.” 

“Talk to you later Tuukks.” 

“Tuukka,” Patrice said as Tuukka shut the cover of his laptop, “Just what did you say to Marchy? He was all pissed off with you for some reason.” 

“If anything, I should be the one pissed off about that,” Tuukka responded as he brought up the conversation on his phone then handed it to Patrice, “Just read it. My throat hurts and I don’t feel like talking much anymore.”

Patrice sighed as he read the conversation, “You two can work that out on your own. I'm not getting involved.” He said as he cleared his throat a little, “I brought you something to eat.”

“What did you get me?” 

“Your usual,” Patrice said as he handed Tuukka a small container, “Try not to make too much noise. I’m gonna take my pre-game nap.” 

“I’m probably gonna take a nap after I eat,” Tuukka said, “I’m tired.” 

\--

“Bergy,” Tuukka moaned a little after the two of them had woken up from naps.

“What is it Tuukka?” Patrice asked.

“I feel like shiiiiit,” Tuukka whined.

Patrice sighed, “I know you do,” He said, “That’s why you should have stayed behind in Boston.” 

"But I'd still feel like shit in Boston," Tuukka whined, "And it would have been worse."

“How would resting in your own home have been worse?” Patrice asked.

"Vivien’s sick too and she cries a lot when she's sick," Tuukka whined, "And I don't think I could deal with that with the headache I have right now. The last time she was sick she screamed for a solid fifteen minutes because I wouldn’t let her play with my cell phone."

Patrice sighed again. A few years ago Shawn Thornton had mentioned that Tuukka whined a lot when he was ill. And Patrice was now realizing that the former Bruin had been right. “I think I would rather deal with a sick toddler right now…” He thought, “At least you can excuse a toddler for whining…” 

"I hate being siiiiick," Tuukka whined.

Patrice sighed, “What do you want me to get you for dinner?” He asked hoping that it would get Tuukka’s mind off his illness.

“Something that will stop making me feel like shiiiiit,” Tuukka responded. 

“Do you want me to get you some soup or something?” Patrice asked. 

“I don’t want soup,” Tuukka whined, “I’m sick of soup. And it’s not filling enough. I woke up hungry in the middle of the night last night.” 

Patrice sighed, “There’s a restaurant downstairs do you want me to look up the menu and get you something from there?” He asked. He almost wished that Tuukka was still asleep. The netminder was starting to aggravate him.

“Suuuuure,” Tuukka said, “Why not.” 

“Here,” Patrice said as he handed Tuukka the menu that was in their room, “Let me know what you want.”

“I guess I’ll have the grilled chicken,” Tuukka said, “I’ll pay you back.”

“It says it comes with two sides,” Patrice said, “What do you want?”

“Whatever.” Tuukka responded.

Patrice sighed, “Tuukka they have ten different sides,” he said, “What do you want?”

“What do they have?” Tuukka whined.

“Here,” Patrice said as he handed the menu to Tuukka again, “Pick two.” 

“The rice and the mixed vegetables I guess,” Tuukka responded.

“Where’s your credit card?” Patrice asked.

“I said I’d pay you back,” Tuukka whined, “I don’t know where my wallet is. And I don’t feel like getting up to look for it.”

Patrice sighed and cleared his throat a little before calling in Tuukka’s order.

“Bergy, you’ve been clearing your throat a lot today,” Tuukka said once Patrice ended the call, “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine,” Patrice said, “I’ll be back in about ten or so minutes.”

Once Patrice left the room he texted Carey Price and Marc-Andre Fleury, “Good luck with Tuukka tonight. He’s extremely cranky.” 

“I’m sure he’ll behave for us tonight,” Price responded, “I’ll let you know if he doesn’t though.” 

“I have two young daughters,” Fleury responded, “I can deal with extremely cranky pretty well.” 

\--

Shortly after puck drop Tuukka's phone went off.

"Someone on the team checking up on you?" Fleury asked.

"No," Tuukka said, "It's Olli Maatta."

"I'm guessing since the first headline I saw on NHL.com this morning was “Bruins’ Rask out with illness against Carolina,” whatever you're sick with didn’t “clear up before game day” like you said it would.” 

"It wasn't a one or two day thing like I thought it would be." Tuukka said, "I woke up sick again today."

"You know Olli?" Fleury asked.

"We played on the Olympic team together." Tuukka said answering Fleury. 

"Who else are you talking to?" Olli asked.

"Marc-Andre Fleury, Corey Crawford and Carey Price." Tuukka responded.

"Finnish is weird," Fleury commented.

"So you ARE friends with Flower!" Olli exclaimed.

"I never said we weren't friends," Tuukka retorted.

"Olli’s never this outspoken…" Fleury mused, "I wish I knew what he was saying…"

"I'm sorry if Finnish is easier for me to speak." Olli said. "Are you at least feeling any better today?" He asked Tuukka.

"If anything, I'm feeling a little worse today," Tuukka replied.

"That's what you get for not resting." Olli said.

"You tell him Olli," Fleury said.

"Well I just wanted to tell you off for not resting when you should have," Olli said, “Seriously Tuukka, you really need to learn when to take a fucking night off."

"You're too young to swear!" Both Fleury and Tuukka exclaimed, causing Tuukka to start coughing.

"Okay, new rule," Price said, "Do not make Tuukka yell like that!"

"I'm okay," Tuukka said hoarsely after taking a drink of the water bottle he had on the nightstand.

"No, you're not," Olli said, "You should be in bed."

"I am in bed," Tuukka said as he turned his iPhone to show Olli that he was in fact resting in bed, "I've been in bed all day."

Olli sighed, "You should be in your own bed," he said, "Back in Boston."

"Yeah, I kind of have to agree," Tuukka said, "But I didn't know I'd be sick for more than a day. I thought I'd be feeling better by now."

"Just take is easy will you?" Olli asked, "Go to bed early tonight."

"But we've already established that I'm already in bed." Tuukka said.

"Fuck you," Olli said in Finnish.

"You're too young to swear," Tuukka said.

"I second that!" Fleury said, "I don't know what the first part means but I know what vittu means!"

Olli sighed, "Just feel better will you?" he said, "FaceTime me again when you're feeling better."

"I will," Tuukka said, "Have a good night Olli."

\--

Around nine, Price, Fleury and Crawford noticed a change in how Tuukka had been behaving. He had gone from sitting up in bed to lying down. He was spending more and more time with his eyes closed. He hadn’t celebrated his team’s most recent goal and he looked completely miserable.

"Tuukka, are you okay?" Price asked.

"I'm starting to really not feel well," Tuukka murmured.

"Do you want us to call someone for you?" Price asked.

"No, I’ll be okay," Tuukka responded softly, "I'm just really tired and my head and throat are killing me..."

"Take your temperature, take some medicine and try to get some sleep then." Price said

"What's your temperature Tuukks?" Fleury asked.

"Thirty-eight point seven (101.8)," Tuukka responded as he reached for the Tylenol and water bottle on the bedside table. "I should have stayed in Boston," He mumbled, “I was too sick to travel with the team.”

"You didn't know you'd be sick for this long," Price said, "Just try to sleep okay."

"We'd put a cool cloth on your head but we're hundreds of kilometers away." Fleury said, "So you'll have to wait for Bergy to get back."  
It took Tuukka only about ten minutes to fall asleep.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Fleury asked, “His fever is high.”

"I think his fever might be breaking," Price said, "I mean according to Bergy it was about one-hundred-one point five last night and the night before. And they both said that it hovered around one hundred point eight or so during the day. Fevers usually get worse before they get better."

"Bergy will be back in about an hour and a half but if nothing else happens to Tuukks in that time I would say just let him sleep. He probably needs it." Crawford said. 

"Do you think it's the flu?" Fleury asked.

"I don't think so," Price said, "His fever hasn't really been high enough."

\--

Tuukka was still sound asleep when Patrice returned from the game.

"Hey, how was he?" Patrice asked.

"He wasn't too cranky for us," Fleury said, "There was a little bit of whining when you guys got scored on in the first but aside from that he behaved for us." 

"I'm glad he behaved for you guys. He drove me up a wall earlier," Patrice said, "About what time did he fall asleep and how was he feeling?" 

"He fell asleep around quarter-past nine saying he really wasn't feeling well." Price said, "His temperature was about one hundred-one point eight and he was complaining of a bad headache."

"The headache part sounds about normal," Patrice said as he nodded, "He complained about a headache the last two nights as well. But his fever is high. Did he complain about anything else?"

“Just fatigue,” Price said, “And the headache and a little bit of a sore throat. He also said that he should have stayed behind in Boston.”

“Several of us wish he had stayed behind in Boston,” Patrice said as he carefully placed a cold compress to Tuukka’s forehead, “But Carolina’s team doctor examined him this morning and ruled that it was just a viral thing, a little too severe to be just a cold but not severe enough to be the flu.” 

“That’s good,” Crawford said, “At least you guys aren’t traveling back to Boston tonight.” 

“Actually the rest of the team is traveling tonight,” Patrice said, “But Tuukka and I stayed behind and we’ll travel tomorrow afternoon. The team made arrangements for him and I to stay here an extra night. It would have been a late night for us and because he’s still sick they wanted him to rest.”

“At least they’re not making him travel tonight,” Price said.

“He had a rough time traveling the other night,” Patrice said, “And he wasn’t nearly as sick as he is tonight. I just hope he has a better night than he had last night.”

“He had a bad night?” Fleury asked.

“Yeah,” Patrice said, “He fell asleep early and quickly but he woke up around two in the morning and spent an hour trying to fall back to sleep. It wasn’t until after he got up to take Tylenol that he finally fell asleep again.”

“Trying to sleep when you have a fever can be hard,” Fleury said, “You just can’t get comfortable.” 

“That’s what he complained about while he couldn’t sleep,” Patrice said, “Thank you again for keeping your eyes on him. The team thanks you as well, even though I wouldn’t tell them who was going to keep an eye on him.”

“No problem,” Price and Fleury said.

“Tuukka’s a good friend of ours,” Crawford said, “And I’m sure he would do the same for one of us.” 

“Have a good night,” Patrice said.

“You too Patrice,” Price said.

“Bon Soir!” Fleury said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Brad and Olli made another appearance so to speak. There will be at least one more chapter after this one (which I haven't really started yet....so it might not be out right away...). One of Brad Marchand's nicknames is Squirrel, I just couldn't tell you why...


	4. Finally Feeling Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I switched to a new laptop while I was writing this chapter and the original progress I had got lost in transition. So I had to rewrite it from the beginning. But it's done now. Enjoy!

When Tuukka woke up the following morning he was happy to find that he was feeling much better than he had been feeling for the past few days. His head and body no longer ached, he no longer felt feverish, and for the first time in a few days, he didn’t wake up exhausted. Even though he no longer felt feverish he reached for the thermometer on the nightstand and took his temperature.

“Oh Tuukks, you’re awake,” Patrice muttered tiredly shortly after the thermometer beeped, “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good actually,” Tuukka responded, “I think I’m finally over that stupid cold.” 

“What’s your temperature?” Patrice as he cleared his throat then started coughing.

“Uh, thirty-seven point one (98.9),” Tuukka responded, “Bergy, are you feeling okay?”

“It’s just a little bit of a cold,” Patrice responded.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Tuukka said, “I guess I really should have stayed in Boston…”

“This usually happens when I room with a sick teammate,” Patrice said, “I’ll be fine.” 

Tuukka got out of bed and placed his hand to Patrice’s forehead, “You don’t really feel warm,” he said.

“I don’t think I have a fever,” Patrice said, “I don’t usually get as sick as the teammate I took care of was.” 

“Kells never gets sick after taking care of a sick teammate,” Tuukka said, “But that’s only because he literally follows you around with a can of Lysol the entire time.”

“So I’ve been told,” Patrice said, “But it’s good that you’re feeling better. If you’re up for it, there’s a nice little café right next door to the hotel we can get some breakfast at.”

“That sounds good,” Tuukka said, “I’ve been stuck in bed for a few days and I definitely need to stretch my legs a little. What time is our flight back to Boston?”

“Two-thirty,” Patrice said, “They chose a later flight in case you still weren’t feeling well today.”

“Uh, do you happen to know what the weather’s like?” Tuukka asked, “I don’t want to over or under dress, since I’m just getting over being sick.”

“You should be fine with a light jacket,” Patrice said, “It’s been mild but still kinda chilly.” 

“Did we win last night?” Tuukka asked, “I ended up falling asleep before the game ended.”

“We won four to one,” Patrice responded.

“Did Marchy score?” Tuukka asked.

“Yes,” Patrice said, “An empty-netter.”

“At least he was true to his word I guess,” Tuukka muttered, “I wanted to get back at him for yesterday…”

Patrice sighed, “Are you still going on about that?” He asked.

“You read that conversation we had yesterday,” Tuukka argued.

Patrice sighed, “Just give it a rest,” he said, “Just know that if it wasn’t for Marchy I would have gotten you a tea at Starbucks the other day.”

Tuukka opened his mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it and gave Patrice his signature annoyed, indignant glare instead. 

\--

After a quick breakfast Tuukka and Patrice were hanging out in their hotel room when Tuukka got a message from Price.

“Are you able to talk for a bit?”

“Possibly, hold on,” Tuukka replied. He turned to Patrice, “You didn’t happen to pack my laptop last night did you?”

“No,” Patrice said, “It’s here on the table.”

“Thanks,” Tuukka said as he grabbed his computer and returned to the bed he had been resting on, “Hey guys,” He greeted after opening Skype.

"How are you feeling!?" the other three exclaimed almost simultaneously.

"I'm feeling a lot better today," Tuukka said, "My fever finally broke yesterday and I’m just a little tired today."

“You look like you’re feeling a lot better today,” Price said, “When do you guys play again?”

“Tomorrow,” Tuukka said, “We have a home game against the Lightning. I’m not sure if I’ll start in that game. It’ll depend on how I’m feeling later.” 

“You’ll be feeling better for the game against us right?” Crawford asked.

“Oh yeah,” Tuukka responded, “They just want to make sure I’m one-hundred percent before they have me play again. I’ve been sick for a few days, they’re going to want me to regain my strength a little.”

"You did pretty good during that last game you played in," Fleury said, "You said you weren't one hundred percent that day and you only let in one goal."

"I had actually sneezed just as Olli took the shot." Tuukka said.

"Excuses, excuses," Fleury said.

"No, I really did sneeze," Tuukka argued, "I even asked the ref for a towel before play resumed."

“So that’s why the ref brought you one of those Gatorade towels before played resumed,” Fleury said, “I thought you had maybe sprayed yourself in the eye with your water bottle. I know I’ve done that before…”

"I only gave up one goal in that game,” Tuukka said, “And Gus, my backup, went in cold in the third and didn’t give up any goals. How many goals did you give up in that game?”

“Five…” Fleury said meekly.

“I was sick and Gus watched the first forty minutes, what was your excuse?” Tuukka asked.

"I was worried one of my teammates had hurt you." Fleury responded.

"That....was worse than Tuukka's "I sneezed as the shot was taken."" Crawford said, “And since Tuukka was actually sick it was a legitimate excuse.”

"Why did you have to play that night?" Fleury whined, "You were sick and should have taken a night off to rest! You made me look bad!"

"Tuukka makes a lot of us look bad." Crawford said

“Thanks,” Tuukka said as Patrice gestured that they were short on time, “I have to get going.” 

“Alright,” Price said, “We just wanted to check in. It’s good that you’re finally feeling better. Have a good day Tuukks.”

“Thanks,” Tuukka said, “You too. Talk to you guys later.”

“Talk to you later Tuukks.”

“À bientôt!” Fleury said.

"What did Fleury say?" Tuukka asked once he ended the Skype chat and put his laptop in his bag.

"See you later," Patrice responded.

"Why do they call Fleury "Flower?"" Tuukka asked

"Fleury means flowery," Patrice said, "So they shorten flowery to flower."

"And what does "tu es bête?" mean?" Tuukka asked.

“Tu es bête means “you are stupid or are you stupid,” Patrice said, “You should use that one on Talbo. He’ll get a kick out of it.”

“That’s what Fleury told me to do,” Tuukka said, "And what does "enculé" mean?"

Patrice sighed, "Congrats Tuukks, you've learned how to swear in French," He said. "Enculé means "motherfucker.””

“Oh nice,” Tuukka said, “I started out with a big one then.” 

“Please don’t teach it to Pasta,” Patrice advised, “Come on, our ride to the airport is on its way.”

\--

When Tuukka and Patrice arrived in Boston, Zdeno Chara was there to pick them up at the airport. 

“How are you feeling Tuukka?” Zdeno asked.

“A lot better,” Tuukka said, “And happy to be back in Boston.”

“That’s good to hear,” Chara said, “Bergy, you need to get your car right?”

“Yeah,” Patrice responded.

“Hey Zee, would you mind dropping me off at my place first?” Tuukka asked, “Both Jasmiina and Vivien are sick with what I had and I want to let Jasmiina rest for a little bit. Plus I desperately need a nap.”

“I don’t mind,” Zdeno said.

"Thanks."

\--

After Tuukka had been home for a few hours and had taken a much needed nap he contacted Olli Maatta on FaceTime.

“Hey Olli,” Tuukka greeted.

“Hey Tuukka, are you finally feeling better?” Olli asked.

“Yeah,” Tuukka responded, “I’m still a little more tired than usual but I’m feeling better.”

“Good,” Olli said, “Are you going to learn your lesson this time?”

“Probably not,” Tuukka responded, “That probably won’t be the last time I try to play through an illness.”

Olli sighed, “One of these days, you’re gonna try to play through an illness and you’re gonna end up either passing out of throwing up on the ice.”

“I’ve had the second one happen before,” Tuukka responded meekly.

“Seriously?” Olli asked in a deadpan tone, "Why does this not surprise me?"

“I was ten. My parents forced me to go to the game despite how sick I felt and I ended up having to play anyway because our backup goalie was also sick.” Tuukka explained, “My coach felt bad about it but there was nothing he could do.”

“Did they at least let you go home after you threw up?” Olli asked. 

"Yeah," Tuukka responded, "The other team agreed to postpone the game and waive off the own goal one of my teammates scored because I was just a little too busy to stop the puck. My younger brother made fun of me for months after."

"I probably would have made fun of you for it too. But at least you didn’t have to play the rest of the game sick like that," Olli said, "And you need to repeat after me: "I, Tuukka Rask, promise that I won't try to play through an illness like an idiot ever again."

"I can't make any promises." Tuukka said.

Olli sighed, "You're an idiot Tuukka Rask. But I guess it's good you're feeling better."

“Thanks Olli,” Tuukka responded.

“Have a good one Rask.”

“You too,” Tuukka responded, “Just remember, you’re too young to swear.”

“Fuck off Rask.” 

\--

The following day after a disastrous first game back, Tuukka messaged the other members of the Pissed-Off Goalies club.

“Hey Tuukks,” Price greeted, “How was your first game back?”

“You don’t want to know,” Tuukka responded, “All I have to say about how the game went is my team forgot how to kill penalties and Stamkos was given a penalty shot. And it went about as well for me as you would expect it to.” 

“Oh god,” Price said as the other two winced.

“That’s rough,” Fleury responded, “He’s one of the guys I don’t want to face on a breakaway.”

“How did you feel otherwise?” Crawford asked.

“Not great,” Tuukka said, “I still have a cough and I ended up with a headache halfway through the game. It wasn’t a good game for me.” 

“That sucks,” Fleury said, “You at least have a few days to rest at least right?”

“Yeah,” Tuukka said, “We play the Flames on Tuesday.” 

“Then we play you on Thursday,” Crawford said, “I don’t know if I’ll be in goal though. We have a game Wednesday night in Detroit.”

“I’ll probably be in goal,” Tuukka said, “I don’t honestly know when I’ll get another game off.” 

“That sucks,” Fleury said, “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Tuukka said, “I just needed to rant a little bit.” 

“That’s what we started the club for,” Price said, “Good luck.”

“Same to you,” Crawford said, “I’ll see you Thursday Tuukks.”

“Yeah,” Tuukka said, “Thanks for listening.”

“No problem,” Fleury said, “Get some rest Tuukks.” 

“I’ll try,” Tuukka responded, “Talk to you later.” 

Tuukka sighed and shut his laptop down hoping that the rest of their games that week went just a little bit better.

**Author's Note:**

> So there's chapter one. There will be another at least two chapters. Feedback is always appreciated! :)


End file.
